Little Drummer Boy Christmas Card

This has to be my most involved card. And by most involved, I mean, most layers.

The main focal image, sentiment and background are from a discontinued Graphics45 patterned paper that I got as a gift with purchase from a local scrapbook store. I layered a snowflake and a few doily diecuts from My Favorite Things. The gold foam stars were cut out from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die. I also added a few fabric pieces and tucked a couple of stitched fall leaves from a Lawn Fawn die behind the focal image. I love how the different layers and textures came together.

Challenge:

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Starry Gold Christmas Card

I'm really putting this deer die from a Maggie Holmes set through its paces this holiday season. I just love how interesting it looks on a card especially against an interesting background. I'm entering both the Simon Says Stamp challenges again (links below).

I achieved the background by sponging gold acrylic paint through a Tim Holtz stencil on a black cardstock. I think I have to do more of this because I love the effect of gold against a dark background. I also splattered a tiny bit of gold Heidi Swapp Color Shine.

The gold foam stars were cut out from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die. I layered a torn up bit from a doily and some twine on the back of the deer.

Challenges:

• Simon Says: Star Light Star Bright
• Simon Says: Anything Goes

Got Cake Birthday Card

The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge has the theme "Food and/or Drink" and I thought of creating a birthday card with a cute bear eating a slice of cake. I guess this can also be entered into the new Monday Challenge that has the theme "Star Light Star Bright" since I included a starry background.

 

The bear is from a Brutus Monroe stamp set and it has the cutest little birthday themed bear images. Both the sentiments are from the same set. I got the star background die cut from Aliexpress. I matted the pink stripe paper with a shimmery peach. I also splattered some Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Peach. I coloured the bear with Copic markers and shaded some areas with Prismacolor pencils.

Overall, it's a cute and simple looking card but quite a bit of effort did go into colouring and putting the elements together.

Tear It Up Snowflake Card

I really like participating in card or journaling challenges because it forces me to use my supplies differently. And usually, no two projects are exactly alike. So there's always variety and I don't have to think of prompts because I'm pretty bad at coming up with them.

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge has a "Tear It Up" theme. Now I love using torn up bits in my journaling but I don't really use them on my cards. So I whipped out my scrap papers and pretty much stuck them down on top of each other. The snowflake is from a MFT Die-namics die that may be discontinued. I didn't include a sentiment on the cover but I may stamp a Christmas greeting on the inside.

This is a really great way to use up those scraps.

Little Deer and Friend Christmas Card

I am still not done with Christmas cards and made another one with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge in mind. We have "Furry Friends" as a theme and I thought why not add a fawn and his rabbit friend.

Both critters were from a free stamp set that I got with a papercraft magazine last year. The tree was cut from a Kaisercraft die with kraft cardstock. I can't really remember where the blue patterned paper came from. I've used it in a few projects and only had a small rectangle remaining.

I'm starting to enjoy adding twine or thread on my cards. I think they add a bit of interest in quite an organic way.

Faux Stitching Reindeer Card

I was actually working on this card and just so happen to see the latest Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge titled "It's a Stitch Up". Although I do not have any hand or machine stitching on my card, there are faux stitches achieved through stamps and dies.

I used my usual stitched rectangle die to cut out the main base. Then I stamped a stitched circle from Carabelle Studios with Encore Champagne ink, which is a rather subtle gold champagne. I laid a couple of scrap papers and a piece of lace trim. The reindeer was stamped on kraft paper and fussy cut out. I added a little bit of gold DMC thread behind it. The sentiment is from a Kelly Purkey stamp set. Of course I had to add some gold splatters with Heidi Swapp Color Shine. Oh and that tiny gold foam star was a negative shape from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die. All pieces were shaded with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo around the edges.

I think this is my new favourite card to date. I love how all the little elements came together and would definitely try machine stitching some pieces on my next card. I just find the sewing machine a little intimidating sometimes.

Thank You Fall Butterfly Card

This card is for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the theme "Thanks/Thanksgiving" and I'm oh so late with my submission (there's only 4 hours left as I type this).

Quite honestly, I was a little disappointed with how this card turned out. I'm happy enough with the background, the fall leaves embossed on the gold cardstock with very subtle shimmer is actually quite lovely. But something about that butterfly die bugs me. I think it's the feelers or antennae sticking out of its head. It's a funny shape. I love the delicate wing design though, and that's one of the reasons I got it but the feelers are really strange. I've tried snipping it off before but it looked even weirder. The die is by Concord and 9th and it comes with a gorgeous flower die as part of the Floral and Flutter set. I'm just not the biggest fan of the "flutter" bit.

Another thing I don't like is the sentiment. I wish I had stuck one of the Tim Holtz tiny word stickers instead. The font doesn't quite go together with the card. I will probably replace it after this.

So there you have it. Sometimes a project can be a tad bit underwhelming.

Silver Snowflake Card

For the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, we have the theme "Snow White". Immediately, I thought of embossing snowflakes onto a plain white linen card and sticking a glittery silver snowflake on it.

The snowy embossing folder is by Darice and the silver snowflake is an old MFT die (probably discontinued). The sentiment is from the Kelly Purkey S'no Problem stamp set. I added a light silver foil washi tape along the edges of the base card to create a slim silvery border. The effect is quite subtle.

This simple card is perfect if you're looking to mass produce because it's relatively easy to put together.

Celebrate Christmas Tag

I've been a little preoccupied with making Christmas cards and tags for the upcoming holiday season. I decided to play along the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the theme "Christmas Gift Tag".

The background was achieved with sparkly Dylusion mica and Heidi Swapp Color Shine sprays over a Tim Holtz stencil called Holiday Knit. I also splattered some gold Color Shine and stamped a Christmassy sentiment by Kaisercraft in gold ink. The tree is a Kaisercraft die and the word "celebrate" is from a Waffle Flower die. I layered the word three times to make it thicker. The stars were snipped off from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die and were diecut with glitter gold fun foam.

You can see more of the shimmery background from this photo.

Have you started on your Christmas cards yet?

Somebunny Is Thinking of You Card

I haven't made a card for the Simon Says Stamp challenges in a while and when I saw Monday's Challenge theme "All Creatures Great and Small", I knew I had to use the latest addition to my stamp collection. This Birdie Brown Somebunny set by My Favorite Things (MFT) is quite possible one of the cutest stamps I own. The images are so darling!

I created the background by smooshing some watercolours on a small piece of cardstock and cut out with a stitched rectangle die. I created the sun rays peeking out behind the bunny with some Distress Ink in Wild Honey using a mini blending tool through a stencil. The bunny was watercoloured with Prima's Pastel Dreams set and the sentiment stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink. The two tiny hearts are from Simon Says Stamp Mini Hearts die set.

I really like how this card turned out. I love combining mixed media in my card making and think the end results are always a little more unique. I will be creating a bunch of Christmas cards next because I have to get them ready to send out.

I hope you enjoyed this little project. Thanks for popping by.

Celebrate Stars Card

It's been a long time since I participated in a Simon Says Stamp challenge and this card is for both the Monday and Wednesday challenge. I used the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars and the Waffle Flower Celebrate dies along with a stitched rectangular die. I layered a few of the celebrate word so that it pops up a bit. It's a simple card but I do prefer the look of clean and simple cards most of the time.

• SSS Monday Challenge "Its Written in the Stars"
• SSS Wednesday Challenge "Clean and Simple"

Mixed Media Crazy Bird Birthday Card

One of my favourite crafty things to do is to play with Distress Paints and today I thought of incorporating the card I've made for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge into a mixed media series that I'm doing on my channel. Do check out the video at the end of this post.

I'm really pleased with how the card turned out and all the different techniques I applied to the Distress Paints. I especially love the mixed media backgrounds I worked on and the Tim Holtz Crazy Birds stamp set was pretty cute too. I only have 3 of those birds in my set. It was one of those "made for Michaels" (or was it JoAnns?) sets that came with the coordinating dies too.

 

This is probably one of the cutest cards I've made :-)

Hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching!

Channel: PlannerBug
Direct link to video: Distress Paints Birthday Card | Mixed Media Techniques

Beary Cute Embossed Cards

These cards are for both the Simon Says Stamp Monday and Wednesday challenges as the two are having similar themes, and that is embossed or textured cards. I love dry embossing, which is something I do quite frequently on my cards but I don't usually do much heat embossing because the powders tend to fly everywhere due to the overhead fan or air conditioning blowing my direction.

But I thought I'll do both today. I finally got my hands on the Waffle Flower Bear and Bird stamp set and did some "no line" watercoloring on the images. They turned out quite adorable.

The background was embossed with an embossing folder I got with a UK magazine. I used a bright pink cardstock, not a colour I would usually choose but it came in a multi pack of cardstock. It does look pretty cute when embossed. I also added some strips of washi tape before embossing to make it look a bit more interesting.

The vellum was cut out from a Sizzix die set (I honestly cannot remember what it's called) and the sentiments were embossed using a fine detail embossing powder.

Do you like embossing and which method do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below.

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge "Touchy Feely"
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge "Emboss It"

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a nice day!

Dad Is the Best Card

With Father's Day coming up in the weekend, there's no better card to make for both the Simon Says Stamp Monday and Wednesday Challenges with the theme "masculine cards".

I really like the Tim Holtz Retro Circles embossing folder and how the Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Gold looks against a textured black cardstock. I decided to keep the card somewhat simple with just a couple of stars and alphabet diecuts from a Lawn Fawn set.

Overall, I like the card and I don't do "masculine" themes very often. I usually tend to lean towards softer, more feminine colors or pastels but I think doing something a little different is quite fun and challenges your creativity.

Hello Panda Card

Here's a second card for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the theme "Furry Friends". This one is with the Mama Elephant's panda set that I purchased at JoAnns.

I love these bears and I'm gonna have to create a couple more "hello" cards with this set because I like that I don't really need to color each bear so it allows me to churn out more cards :-) Setting the bear against a bright background also adds an element of fun. Love it!

Best Wishes Critter Card

I don't actually have many stamp or die sets with critters but I made it a point to look for the Mama Elephant sets that were sold in JoAnns when I was in the US. These sets are pretty value for money and come with coordinating dies, which is an absolute win. And I got my sets at 40% off. Win!

Anyway, this card is for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with "Furry Friends" as the week's theme.

I'm guessing it's a little mouse but I am probably wrong. I colored the image with Copic Markers and used My Favorite Things Die-Namics chevron background die on the peach cardstock. I stuck a few enamel dots from an old Studio Calico set.

Hope you're having a nice day!

Dropping In To Say Thanks

This card is for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the theme "It's A Frame Up". I've had this large Polaroid cut out die from an old Jen Hadfield set and it measures 4" by 5". The cute little cat, I think... or is it a bear (?) and balloons are from a Mama Elephant set from JoAnn's that I got when I was in US. The clouds are from Lawn Fawn and the "thanks!" stamp from Hero Arts.

I thought it turned out super cute!

Hope you have a nice day!

A Big Day Birthday Card

This is a quick one for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with "Anything Goes" as its theme. In the past few months, I have tried hunting down this Crate Paper die from the Maggie Holmes Confetti collection as SSS was out of stock for quite some time. But I'm glad I finally got it! It cuts out the loveliest flower and leaf patterns and they make great stand-alone embellishments too.

When you cut the flower petals and leaves in different patterned papers and colors, they look particularly pretty. The "Happy Big Day" was stamped in Versamark and embossed with a white embossing powder on a small die-cut vellum tag. I like that it moves around as you shake it. The background was cut using MFT Die-namics Peek-a-Boo Polka Dots die on a peachy-coral shimmery cardstock.

Overall, the card took about an hour to put together because I had to try different compositions and little elements that will fit in. Paper selection took a bit of time too although the flower and leaves were cut with scrap paper. But I think the extra effort was worth it.

Hello with Butterflies Handmade Card

Here's another card for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the theme "Use More than One Die or Punch".

This card is made up of various die cut elements and the only thing that's not a die cut is the watercolor background and vellum strip. I contemplated adding more gold on the card but didn't want an overly shimmery / bling type card so I kept it simple.

Winter Birthday Card

I wanted to use the deer head diecut from the Maggie Holmes Open Book set again and seeing that Simon Says Stamp has a new Wednesday Challenge called "Winter Birthday", well antlers and snow seems to come to mind. Well, at least to my mind.

This is a relatively simple card with the birthday greeting stamped in Encore Ultimate Metallic Gold ink using Hero Arts Many Everyday Messages stamp set. The gold ink is rather subtle and doesn't really show up on screen. I added a punched out glitter gold snowflake for that slightly more wintery element.